Mortal Kombat Advance

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Midway's conversion for the GBA is an absolute embarrassment to the Mortal Kombat franchise.

By Craig Harris

If you're a game developer, and you've been assigned the task of porting an established brand to a very capable system, here's a rule of thumb: get it right. Believe me, if the game is a popular one, gamers are going to notice when something's not pulled off exactly as it had been in previous incarnations. But when you get it completely wrong, there's going to be trouble. And brother, Mortal Kombat Advance is definitely the worst port of the series performed on capable system hardware. If there was ever a game that just screamed "rush job," it's this fighter published by Midway. It's absolutely embarrassing to see just how botched MK is on the handheld.

Features:

More than 20 characters

Link cable support for two players

Only for Game Boy Advance

Mortal Kombat Advance is, essentially, a direct port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. A fine game in its own right, the original is a decent design that would make a great portable title...especially on the powerful Game Boy Advance hardware. Though a lot of people will argue that the 2D Mortal Kombat design took a dive after the awesome Mortal Kombat 2, I personally liked Mortal Kombat 3...even though I thought some of the added characters were just plain stupid (Stryker? Kabal? Puh-lease).

So, keeping that in mind...I was really looking forward to what Virtucraft could do for the Mortal Kombat series on the Game Boy Advance. Honestly, my only concern was in controls, since the fighter relies on a six-button configuration in the arcade and console versions. The Game Boy Advance hardware has plenty of horsepower to drive two detailed digitized sprites against a scrolling background or two...and since the development team's only task was to convert an existing design to another system, my hopes were high that we could finally get a worthy handheld Mortal Kombat.

Crushed. I was absolutely crushed to see what this team did on the handheld. All the team had to do was follow the blueprint laid out for them in the home and arcade versions, building off of its foundation. Most of the graphics and sound were readily available for the conversion...all that's really needed was attention to detail in the gameplay department. And though the game looks acceptable for a Game Boy Advance game, and features 99% of the characters and backgrounds from the past versions, it plays terribly and doesn't feel like the game it's supposed to emulate.

Horrible AI programming is the biggest culprit here, as the default setting is near impossible to play. Right from the get-go, the computer controlled opponent can pull off multiple moves and combinations that wouldn't be humanly possible for anyone without a bionic implant in their thumb. Honestly, the very first battle in the game is amazingly, frustratingly difficult to win. The developer has done nothing to ween new gamers to the Mortal Kombat series on the Game Boy Advance, nor did they hide their ineptitude in recreating the Mortal Kombat experience for folks familiar with the franchise. Gamers can reduce the difficulty to make the game somewhat playable, but this just dumbs down the opponent to a level where all that's necessary to win is to run up to him, trap him against the wall, and wail on him with the A and B buttons.

What's worse is the timing necessary to pull off special moves. Sure, the developers had to condense the Mortal Kombat controls onto the more limiting four-button configuration, but the programmers obviously didn't put a lot of time into testing every special move for each character. For example, I simply cannot put Kitana's Fan Lift move to use in a battle because the programmers require three extremely quick taps away before hitting the punch button...the only way I've been successful in performing this move is by resting the system on a table and using my index finger on the D-pad. And who plays Game Boy like that?

As said, the game's graphics aren't terrible, but they do have a sort of dithered, compressed look throughout the fight. There's also some odd slowdown in places when the action seems to get a bit on the intense side. The GBA's special sprite capabilities aren't put to use here...don't expect to see any transparencies or scaling/rotation effects in this game. Heck, don't expect to see blood glops hit the floor, or characters explode when they're defeated in Endurance rounds. And though the game features several of the fatalities and friendships that the series is known for, they're so mistimed that it's really difficult to understand what just happened on that small screen.

The sound, on the other hand, is absolutely phenomenal, with crystal clear digitized samples and excellent music composition...which is why I wasn't surprised in the least to see Manfred Linzner, the guy responsible for the audio in games such as Tony Hawk 2 and Iridion 3D, credited for the sound for Mortal Kombat Advance. This guy knows the GBA's sound capabilities.

It's possibly a good thing that Midway only sent one copy of the game for review...we can't check the multiplayer support without a second cartridge. Though, in two player mode, you're not subjected to the horrid computer AI...playing against a human opponent would theoretically be a much better experience. However, the wonky super move controls and awkward character motions are enough to waive the two player experience all together.

Mortal Kombat Advance

You've played it in the arcade, you've conquered it on the home consoles, now try out the best handheld version of MORTAL KOMBAT. Loaded up with 20 classic MK characters, the tournament continues replete with the special moves and fatalities that made this franchise the undisputed king of fighting games. Try to defeat each opponent in two out of three fights, advancing through each round of the tournament. Carrying on the tradition of bloody action and focus on sheer brutality, this installment most closely resembles MORTAL KOMBAT 3.

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The Verdict

Maybe the team didn't have enough time with the conversion. Maybe Midway pressured Virtucraft to get this game done before its time. Maybe the programmers weren't quite up to the task. You know what? It honestly doesn't matter to the end user what the excuse is...all they're going to see is a piss-poor version of their beloved MK game, and they're going to feel gypped. I know I do.

6GraphicsEven though the game may not play anything like MK should, it does look pretty okay...despite some dithering and slowdown.

9SoundSome of the most impressive digitized samples to ooze out of the Game Boy Advance speaker. And the tunes aren't bad either.

2GameplayI don't care how good you are at fighting games...if you can pick up this game the first time and beat the very first opponent on the default setting, I'll buy you a Coke. The most unfriendly AI ever.

3Lasting AppealIs the link cable support enough to bump up the score? Not a chance.